


Oh, Well, I Never

by Anonymous



Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber
Genre: Cats in Love, Confusion, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Hiding, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Misto is a mysterious little shit, Multi, No Beta, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags May Change, Tuggofelees, past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29558361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Tugger has spent his entire adult life searching for a certain magical tuxedo cat, a cat who no one else believes really exists. Was he real, or just a figment of Tuggers childhood imagination?
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger (Cats)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38
Collections: anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be short and it's 3000 words long.. 
> 
> This is my first ever multi chapter cats fic, let me know what you think. I will try to post again soon! Also I'm not sure how I feel about the title, so that may change.
> 
> If you want you can shoot me a message on tumblr @maestoffelees.

Tugger ran as fast as his short legs would carry him. The wet, cold ground beneath his paws sends an uncomfortable chill through him with every step. Tears streamed down his furry face, blurring his vision, but it’s not like he was paying much attention anyway. He didn’t know where he was going, he just needed to go. 

When he stops to catch his breath, he finds himself still within the city, but several blocks further from his home than he’d ever been alone before. He stopped to collect himself and take in his surroundings, but all too soon he heard the voice of his old brother out looking for him. 

He panicked as the voice got closer, and dashed into an alleyway, hiding himself in some old, discarded human wardrobe. It was dark inside, and smelled unpleasantly of dust and mildew, but he was actually happy to be out of the cold. 

“Tugger?” He tensed, holding his breath as Munkustrap searched the alley for him, hoping the cold rain and human garbage would disguise his scent well enough. He sent up a silent prayer to the everlasting cat that he wouldn’t be found. He wasn’t ready to face his family yet. “Tugger, please, I’m sorry, he didn’t mean it!” 

This continues for a few moments, but Munks desperation to find his little brother eventually leads him to keep looking elsewhere. Meanwhile, Tugger watches him leave through a crack in the rotting wood. He holds off as long as he can, putting distance between himself and his brother before breaking down. 

He curled up into himself, sobbing into his own tail, which he clutched to his body. His eyes clamped shut, his breathing shallow and gasping, he did try to keep quiet at first, but once he started he couldn’t hold back. He brought a shaking paw up to stroke his unruly mane, trying to comfort himself in anyway he could, remembering when his mother used to do the same thing to him. 

He feels a new stab of pain and guilt in his chest and sobs harder. He missed his mother, he missed when everything was simple and easy, when his family was happy. He didn’t know why everything was so bad lately, but he desperately wanted things to go back to the way they had been. 

The sound of wood creaking gets his attention, and he snaps his head back up. His heartbeat quickly triples its tempo, and he presses his back more firmly against the wall of the wardrobe. His eyes have adjusted to the darkness, and he can see clearly for the first time, that he is not the only cat inside. 

The cat, a tuxedo, was small, clearly younger than Tugger, who wasn’t even a year old yet. They didn’t seem bothered by the rain or cold or the fact that Tugger just burst in on them unannounced. They didn’t speak or move, just kept staring at Tugger with huge blue eyes. 

The older cat felt almost pinned in place by the weight of the eyes on him. 

For a few moments, nothing happens, the two of them just sit locked in a staring contest listening to the wind outside. Eventually, once it’s clear that the smaller cat probably isn’t going to do anything, Tugger relaxes enough to actually form a coherent thought, and decides he should probably say something. 

“Umm.” He begins quietly, voice shaky from all the crying, he sniffles and tries to find his voice. “Hi, My name's Rum Tum Tugger, but everyone just calls me Tugger, sorry for breaking into your hiding spot.” 

The little tux doesn’t answer, just tilts his head to one side and continues to stare as if Tugger is the most curious thing he’s ever seen. The young maincoon feels his stomach fill with butterflies and has to look away from the big blue eyes to get a hold of himself. 

“I mean, I just assumed because there's nobody else here, but maybe you just wanted out of the cold, maybe it’s not a hiding spot.. He rambles awkwardly to fill the silence, glancing around the old wooden cage, taking in all of the cracks and water damage, and frowns. “Though, why would anyone want to be in here if it wasn’t to hide..”

Whoever was the previous owner, they clearly did not care to take care of it properly. Tugger hoped that one day when he had a human family of his own, they were less lazy and careless. Afterall, if a person couldn’t be bothered to take care of a piece of furniture, how could they be entrusted with a feline life? 

“I mean, um,” He stammers, suddenly realizing that this young cat could be homeless and using the wardrobe as a temporary den, and he’d just gone and insulted it. Good going Tugger. So much for all of dad and munk’s teachings about ‘not looking down on less fortunate cats’ “I mean, it’s great, don’t get me wrong, very, um sturdy and spacious. A very nice place to sit for a while, absolutely nothing wrong with sleeping in here either, absolutely nothing whatsoever. You kno-” 

Tugger’s nervous, nonsensical ramblings are abruptly cut off by a soft giggle. He snaps his attention to the source of the noise, and finds that the little tux has closed their eyes. He sits with a small black paw over his mouth to try and stifle the giggles which are still coming through. The sound, though muffled, is beautiful. It’s soft and light, and Tugger has never heard a sound he liked more in his life. 

“What’s so funny?” He asks the smaller cat, wanting to be let in on the joke. The tux calms down his giggles face Tugger again, the corners of their flurry mouth turned up into a smile. 

“You.” He says, and Tugger learns that the tux is apparently male. 

“Me?” Tugger asks with a frown, pointing a paw at his own chest, not understanding what he did that the younger found so amusing. “What about me?” 

For a moment, the tux doesn’t answer, he simply tilts his head to the side again. He stares at Tugger again, though looks more thoughtful this time as though trying to find the perfect words to use. 

“You’re a curious cat.” He finally settles on, smile still in place. 

“Curious? In what way?” Tugger’s frown deepens with his confusion, still not understanding what he’d done. 

“Well, let's see.” The tux begins, listing the ways on his paw as he names them off. “For starters, you were out on the street on this cold, wet day, even though you clearly have a home. You jumped in a dirty old wardrobe to hide from someone who cares enough about you to chase after you on a day like today. You must've had a good reason for hiding though, couldn’t hold back tears a few moments ago.” 

He pauses, looking sympathetic for a moment before continuing. “Then, once you finally saw me, you put all of that aside to try and hold a conversation with me, a strange cat you’ve never met before and just learned had been watching you. And you even got nervous when you thought you’d insulted me.”

Tugger doesn’t know what to say, stunned into silence. After all the silence, he’s a little amazed the tux is such a well spoken young feline. 

“You’re sad, but you’re more worried about me, it’s…. Curious.” He concludes, the smile back on his face, though it does look less happy than before. Tugger squirms a bit under the eye contact, casting his eyes down to the floor, sad and confused. He hadn’t realized his every move was being analyzed, and it makes him slightly uncomfortable. Though mostly he’s just unhappy about being reminded of his bad day. 

He curls up a little tighter into himself with a sniffle, the events of earlier creeping back into his mind. He’d gotten into another fight with Macavity. That’s all they ever seemed to do anymore was fight. Tugger didn’t know why, he used to be so close to his brother. They used to laugh and play and cuddle up together, but ever since mom left, it’s like Mac is a completely different cat. His words replaying in Tuggers mind like a painful sympathy. 

_ “Dad hates you, we all hate you! It’s your fault mom left!” _

  
  


A paw gently touches his own, and he startles, in his sorrow, he’d almost forgotten about the tux. He hadn’t even heard the little guy move, and was shocked to see him sitting just inches away now. His large blue eyes sought out Tugger’s own, a look of concern on his face. 

“Are you alright?” He asks, a soft voice dripping with worry and sympathy. Tugger nods, though he’s sniffing again. 

“Yeah,” He mumbles quietly, shutting his eyes again. “Yeah, I just had a fight with my brother today, and he said… he said..” Tugger can’t finish before the tears are flowing again. Is it possible Macavity was right? Did he cause all this? Did he make mom leave? 

He gasps, choking on his own air when a pair of tiny, slender arms wrap around him. The tux’s little head is tucked under his chin, his face pressed right into Tuggers fluffy neck. He blinks down at the smaller cat for a second, but then wraps his own arms around him, reciprocating the hug. 

The tux begins purring as he feels Tugger's arms encase him, happy that the larger cat got with the program. Tugger squeezes him gently, purring a little himself. It was startling at first, but the cuddle is honestly nice, warm and comforting. 

“You’re soft.” The smaller comments, nuzzling up into his mane.

Tugger chuckles, smiling proudly, as a maincoon he knew he was one of the fluffiest cats you could ever hope to meet, even as young as he was. Though he wasn’t sure just how nice his fur was at the moment after it had been rained on. 

“I like it.” A small, soft, black paw comes up to stroke the mass of fur, petting and playing with it. The same thing his mother used to do, she used to gently pet his mane whenever he was sad, or scared, or just had trouble sleeping. Since she left, he doesn’t let anyone else touch it, it brings up too much sorrow. Yet, somehow, sitting here with the tux, all he feels is comfort. 

“I’m glad.” He says, reaching down give a few reciprocal pets on the sleek black fur, which are appreciated if the louder purrs are anything to go by. No one says anything for a moment, and Tugger’s oddly glad, he can just enjoy the moment. Honestly, he thinks he could spend the rest of his life cuddled up to the small tux. 

Though, maybe somewhere that smells nicer.. 

All too soon, the little tux detaches himself, scooting back across the floor. Tugger has to hold back a whine as he goes, instantly missing the warmth and softness. 

“Do you feel better?” He asks, and Tugger smiles, because he does, he really does. 

“Much, thank you.” The tux smiles back at him, and they sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Tuggers not sure how or why this strange little tux fell into his life today, but he’s glad he did. 

“So,” He eventually asks to both fill the silence and sate his own curiosity. “We already know about me, but what about you? What’s a little tux like you doing in an old stinky wardrobe? Must admit, I am curious.” 

“Oh!” The small cat’s grin widens and he practically jumps with excitement. “I was practicing my magic!” 

“Uh your what?” 

“My magic!” He proudly announces a second time, as if this is a perfectly normal thing. Meanwhile,Tugger just stares at him in confusion, mentally trying to make sense. 

“You have magic? Seriously?” He receives an enthusiastic nod. 

“Here, I’ll show you!” The little tux takes a step back, closing his eyes with a look of concentration, he waits for a moment, but nothing happens. He opens his eyes and frowns at his empty hands, and closes them again. 

Tugger waits, watching, but nothing happens. He’s not sure what he’s supposed to do, if he’s just supposed to watch, and if so, watch for what. Just as he’s about to ask what’s happening, the tux gasps, and there's a burst of light, so bright that Tugger has to shut his eyes. 

When he opens them again, the tux is panting, looking exhausted, shocked, and a little embarrassed. Tugger isn’t sure what he was trying to do, but it doesn’t look like it went according to plan. The entire inside of the wardrobe, including both cats, is absolutely covered in glitter. 

“That wasn’t supposed to happen..” He mumbles, inspecting his own hands again, as if he’ll physically be able to see what went wrong by looking at them. Tugger is shocked into silence for a good full minute, before he can’t hold back anymore, and breaks out into hysterical laughter. 

He can’t help it, after the emotional day he’s just had, the shock of what just happened was too much for him. Add to that, he just found out that magic is real, and he can’t keep up with the thoughts and feelings in his brain. He just has to get it all out. 

The smaller cat stares at him a moment before joining in on the laughter. They somehow end up sitting together again, the smaller cat draped halfway draped on top of the larger one, gasping for breath, neither of them able to stop for some time. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get your fur all messy.” The tux eventually calms down enough to say, though he’s still giggling. “There’s glitter all over your mane.” 

“It’s alright,” Tugger says with a shrug, not the least bit upset. “Munk always helps me groom it, even when I don’t want him too…”

“Munk?” The tux inquires. 

“Munkustrap, my older brother, he’s great! He takes care of me when dads gone. He always looks after me, fixes me dinner, and oh my god he’s going to kill me!” Tugger exclaims as he notices for the first time how dark it was outside. 

Munk was going to absolutely murder him, he already lost his mind when Tugger wandered out of sight in their own backyard. He was probably still out looking right now! He was going to be so furious and scared, Tugger was honestly a little scared to go home, but he knew Munk would never truly hurt him. 

“I gotta get home!” He throws open the door of the wardrobe, frantic, but then hesitates. It’s dark and cold and he’s tired and overwhelmed and doesn’t know this part of town well enough to navigate his way home. 

“Are you going home?” 

“I don’t know the way..” He says, eyes tearing up again. He was so stupid, he should have just gone with Munk earlier. Now he was lost and alone, and just wanted to be home in his bed. With his luck, he was probably going to get scooped up by animal control and made to share a cell with some horrible, smelly dog. 

“I might be able to help you.” The small cat says, sounding hesitant, but Tugger latches on to any hope he can. 

“Really? You can? You know how to navigate the streets?” 

“Well no,” He hesitates more. “But...I might be able to teleport you there.” 

“You can do that?” 

“I don’t know, I’ve never tried.” He admits, looking a bit sheepish. “But I think I can!” 

Tugger considers this for a moment, looking down at the glitter covering his fur, proof of the small cat’s abilities. It could be dangerous, of course, but what choice does he really have?

Besides, he trusts the little tux. He’s not sure why, but he does. 

“Okay.” He says with a nod. “Okay let's do it.” 

xxxxxxxx

Tugger’s not sure what the tux did, or how, but somehow, he pulls it off. There's an uncomfortable falling sensation, he closes his eyes as he's instructed, and then he’s standing outside of his own den. 

“You did it!” He exclaims, scooping the little tux up into his arms, purring and nuzzling into his sleek fur. The tux laughs as he's spun around in the air. “You did it! Thank you so much! You are amazing, spectacular, magnificent, wonderful-.” He goes on like this for a while, before eventually setting the smaller cat back down, though not letting go of him just yet. 

“Thank you, really, thank you.” He says as sincerely as he can, nuzzling the little black ears, awestruck. “You are amazing, truly amazing.” 

The smaller cat purrs at the praise, cuddling up into the maincoon. They’ve been hugging for several minutes now, but Tugger doesn’t want to let go. He’s drawn to the small tux, he can’t explain why, but he is. He wants to keep him around, to cuddle him and laugh with him, and spend his days growing up together. 

“I like you.” He whispers, when they eventually break apart. The innocent admission leaves his mouth without his permission. He’s not even sure why he says it, but the tux doesn’t seem to mind, he just smiles. 

“I like you too, Tugger.” Tugger’s own mouth mirrors his smile, he moves to cuddle up to the tux again, but finds himself stopped by a paw on his chest. “Come and find me when you decide you like  _ yourself.” _ The tux whispers, before turning and walking away. 

Tugger is left stunned once again by the little tux, feeling confused and sad as the small cat slinks away. 

“What? That’s it? We can’t even be friends?” He calls, but the tux doesn’t answer. “Can I see you again? Can I at least get your name?” He tries, and this time, the small cat stops. He stays frozen in place for a moment, head tilted to the side again, as if thinking, before he finally turns around. 

“Mistofelees.” He says, giving one final smile, blue eyes shining in the moonlight in a way that takes Tuggers breath away. 

“My name is Mistofelees.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was slightly delayed, but here you go! People seemed to like the last chapter, so hopefully you'll like this one too. I'm not really happy with it overall. This ended up being even longer than the first chapter..oops. I hope everything is making sense so far and everything like flows and stuff. I don't know just let me know what you think.
> 
> This chapter contains some Tugger/Bomba. They are friends with benefits in this story, but don't worry, it is a tuggoffelles story, that comes later. 
> 
> If you want you can come say hi on my tumblr. I tend to post updates and ramblings about writing on there if you're interested. https://maestoffelees.tumblr.com/

_ Cold misty air _

_ Big bright blue eyes  _

_ Smooth black fur speckled with glitter  _

_ Warm hugs and mane cuddles  _

_ Soft giggles and a tilted head  _

xxxxxxx

Tugger awoke to the feeling of someone petting his fluffy head, pushing into the touch slightly, wanting more. He slowly blinked up at his human to see them smiling down at him. They began to lightly scratch behind his ear and he purred softly at the sensation. 

“Good morning, sunshine.” The human whispers. Tugger wasn’t sure why the humans insisted on speaking to him as if he was able to hold a conversation with them, but he honestly didn’t mind much. “Did you sleep well?” 

Tugger purrs louder in response to the question. He did, he really did. He always sleeps well when his dreams are filled with visions of a certain small tuxedo cat. Even all this time later, just the mere idea of Mistoffelees awakens butterflies in his stomach. 

The human moves their hand lower towards his mane, and Tugger ducks his head out of the way, flopping down into the bed, out of reach. This earns him a chuckle, the human looking down at him with a combination of amusement and exasperation. 

“Are you ever gonna let me cuddle you properly, you silly thing?” The human asks Tugger, who can offer little more than a soft mew in response. The answer is no, probably not. He’s very particular about his pets. They feel nice, sure, but he still just doesn’t like anyone touching his long mane. 

He rolled over the blankets, trying to soak up the remaining warmth. The human stands, and watches him. He’s not sure why, but he doesn’t mind an audience. If someone’s in need of entertainment, he’s happy to put on a show. Eventually though, they do move away from the bed. 

“Well, I’m off to work.” They say with a sigh, pulling on a jacket as they make their way to the door. Tugger watches them as they pat themselves, double checking they haven’t forgotten anything important, before turning around to face him again with a smirk. “Don’t get up to any shenanigans while I’m gone, alright?” 

Tugger gives a little meow of acknowledgement, which earns him another laugh, and then the human is gone. He folds his paws under himself, watching them go, contemplating what to do with his day. He considers going back to sleep, it was such a pleasant dream after all, but no, he’s awake now. 

Besides what are the odds he’d even get the same dream again. 

He arches his back, stretching his muscles with a yawn. He jumps off the bed, not much a trip considering his large size, and gives himself another good stretch. He pads across the wooden floor, lazily shaking out his mane as he goes. 

He contemplates breakfast, but decides he’s not really hungry yet, and definitely not awake enough to go on a hunt. There is always the option to eat at home, the humans usually leave him out some admittedly very tasty offerings, much better than the ghastly kibble some of the other jellicles are subjected to. But he finds that a meal he didn’t personally prepare for himself is just simply not the same. 

Tugger sits at the base of a large window, in a warm patch of sun, and grooms himself. He may be uptight about who can and cannot touch his mane, but that doesn’t mean he neglects it. In fact, he prides himself on having immaculately soft fur, even if he’s the only one who ever gets to truly appreciate it. 

As he cleans himself, he does some self reflection. The dream he had last night making him nostalgic, as it always did, reminiscing on the past. He’s certainly come a long, long way these last few years. He’s evolved from an awkward, self conscious kit to a fully grown tom. He’s left his family den, got humans of his own, an established role among the jellicles, and hoards of adoring fans whenever he steps foot in the junkyard. 

Not bad, not too bad at all. 

He finishes the last few licks on his puffy fur, and he’s on his feet again, heading to the door. Once the idea of the junkyard came to mind, he immediately knew what he wanted to do with his day. Time for some entertainment, and the junkyard is usually a great place to get up to shenanigans. 

He slips out through his door, a smaller version of a dog door, made specially for his size. His humans got tired of him constantly whining about being let out, only to scratch and claw to get back in minutes later. So they custom ordered him his own door, and now he can come and go as he pleases. It’s too small for a wandering dog to enter, but he has just enough room to slip through. 

He makes his way towards the junkyard, taking his time, enjoying the warm sun and familiar smells of his neighborhood. Perhaps his day would include showing off for his fans, maybe a visit from Bustopher Jones or Skimble, or maybe he’d find a new way to annoy Munkustrap. 

He didn’t know what was in store for him, but for some reason, he had a good feeling about today. 

xxxxxxxx

The junkyard was bustling with activity, as usual, but Tugger mostly ignored it. He walked past the young toms, playfully wrestling, and smiled, remembering being that age himself. Oh the days when everything was all fun and games, no pressure or expectations. If it feels like it was just yesterday he was a curious kit with too much energy. Running around the junkyard, laughing and screaming like mad, to Munkustrap exasperated allowance.

Tugger’s more than happy with his life now, but he can’t help a small twinge of sadness at the thought. It catches him off guard, but he supposes there’s no way to avoid the mildly sad longing that comes with past reflection. He wouldn’t trade his life for anything, yet he can’t help but want to go back and relive his younger days sometimes. He fought back the urge to go and tell the young toms they better appreciate their youth, soaking up every moment of it they can. 

Everlasting, he was feeling nostalgic today, wasn’t he? 

He shrugs it off, this happens sometimes when he dreams of Mistoffelees. Even in his subconscious, little tuxie never fails to make him feel like a kit again, wide eyed, excited, anxious and curious all at once. Perhaps that’s where the sadness comes in, for now he has all but given up hope at ever seeing the smaller tom again. So many years later, the only thing Tugger has left of Mistoffelees are his memories. 

“Tugger!” He glances over at the direction of the small squeaky voice, finding its source to be etcetera. She, and the rest of the kittens, have stopped paying attention to their lesson in favor of ogling him. He smirks, giving them a little wave, just to make them squeak again. He’d obviously never even consider doing anything unmentionable with any of them, they are far too young for him, but he does get a kick out of making them blush and squeal. 

Jennyanydots shoots him a disapproving glare, displeased at him for interrupting her teachings, and Tugger answers with a flirtatious wink, before continuing on. It was an interesting relationship he had with the elder cats. They all openly disapproved of his antics, yet none of them ever actively tried to stop him. While they didn’t agree with how he lived his life, they respected him to make his own choices as a grown tom, though probably hoping he’d eventually turn out more like Munkustrap. 

Tugger snorted at the idea, just imagining himself as uptight and stressed out as Munks. Yeah, maybe when the jellicle moon falls from the sky. 

He wanders aimlessly, allowing his feet to carry him wherever they like. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for, but he’ll know it when he sees it. 

He sees it in the form of Bombalurina. 

He finds her in the clearing with Demeter and Jellylorum. The three queens were smiling and laughing together, probably gossiping or something, when Tuggers happened upon them. Even Demeter looks happy and mostly carefree, which makes Tugger smile inwardly. Everyone knows she hasn’t been quite herself since she went missing a few weeks back, though she slowly appears to be getting better.

Nobody ever talks about what happened, but they all secretly know who was responsible for her disappearance.. The tribe mostly tried not to think about the estranged deuteronomy brother.

The queens all notice Tugger at once, and react accordingly. 

“Oh now, what are you doing here?” 

“Good morning to you too, miss.” He smirks at Jellylorum’s annoyed face.

“We were having such a nice time, too. Don’t you have anyone else to annoy?” 

“Aw, jelly, such a flirt.” She huffs, electing to just ignore him, which makes him laugh.

“Dem.” He nods in her direction, before coming to stand before Bomba. He doesn’t want to put any pressure on conversation on the queen, but he also doesn’t want to be rude and ignore her all together.

“Tug.” She acknowledges him, which is more than she's done the last few times, progress. He gives her a smile, hoping to portray how proud he is of how well she’s doing, before turning to Bomba. 

“Bomba.” He says, getting her attention, as if it wasn’t on him the whole time. 

“Hmm?” She says, boredly, pretending to be uninterested. It’s a little game they play, it makes the casual hookups more fun and exciting if it feels like work. Especially for Tugger. “You need something, Tugs?”

He openly eyes her up and down, looking over her lovely form, making his intentions more than clear. She’s laying back against the grass, taking advantage of the summer sun, warming all of her soft fur. She looks positively beautiful, and Tugger wants to feel all that fur for himself. 

“Care to join me in my den?” He asks, holding out a fluffy paw. She frowns at it, feigning contemplation, but Tugger already knows her answer. If she had truly wanted to reject him, which she had done plenty of times, she would clearly tell him no as soon as he approached. 

It was a rule they established early on. As casual and carefree as their relationship was meant to be, they both had a genuine love and respect for each other. They both wanted the other to really enjoy their time together and be as comfortable as possible. So that was rule number one: no pushing or pressure from either side. 

Teasing is fine, but no means no, no questions asked.

Bombalurina examines the paw for a moment, and eventually places her smaller one on top of it, accepting the invitation.Tugger smiles, helping her up, pressing his body just a little too close than appropriate to hers.

“Ladies.” He nods to the other two queens, turning to leave. Jellylorm rolls her eyes, she’s still growing, but seems to have but seems to have accepted his presence in the junkyard for the day. He winks at her, giving Demeter another smile, expecting her to duck her head down and look away as usual, but she surprises him by speaking again. 

“Tugger, have you seen your brother?” 

“My brother?” Tugger stops dead in his tracks, blinking at her, taken back by both the question and the fact that she's speaking. “Straps?”

“Yes, Munkustrap,” She says with a slight grimace, and Tugger offers a soft apology. Of course that’s who she’d be talking about, and now he’s just reminded her of his other brother. The last cat on earth she needs to be thinking about. Good going Tugger. 

“Have you seen Munkustrap?” She tries again, Tugger frowns. 

“Not today, why?” It was a bit uncommon for Dems to be asking Tugger about her mate, even if they were brothers. She spent way more time with him than Tugger did after all. They spent more time together in the Junkyard than anyone else, keeping order and helping look after the kittens. Tugger just strolled in and out whenever he fancied it. 

“He was looking for you.” Tuggers frown deepens. 

“Why?” He was quite sure he’d done nothing the Munk  _ knew of _ that would merit him being told off. He may be old enough to not have to listen to whatever his brother said anymore, but it still wasn’t a fun experience. 

“He says he needs to talk to you.” She says, voice lowering in volume, starting to shut off again, and Tugger can tell the conversation is over.

“Well that can only be good news..” He mumbles, he gives her another nod, turning away once again. It’s got to be important, but damn he was looking forward to his time with the tall queen. 

Decisions, Decisions.…

“Oh well,” He shrugs, making up his mind. “I’m sure I’ll see him sometime today.”   
  


“Are you sure?” Bomba doesn’t step with him, but doesn’t move to distance herself either. “Sounds important.” 

“All the more reason to put it off.” He smirks, placing his large paw on her hip. “Shall we?” 

xxxxxxx

“That was great.” Tugger hums in agreement, leaning down to clean himself, as he always did after mating. His fur was long, and he liked to keep it clean. Bomba stretched out on his bed with a happy sigh, a smile on her face. She snuggled into his blankets, as she always did when they were done, with a purr. Tugger can’t help but smile at her content expression as her eyes slipped closed. 

“You gonna take a nap?’ Tugger honestly didn’t mind if she did. The queen always got tired and snuggly afterwards, which used to cause some contention between them. Tugger really didn’t care for a cuddle, after all. This was solved when they both fell asleep one night, and she truly experienced for the first time just how amazingly comfortable Tuggers bed was. 

So they compromised. She wouldn’t demand cuddles once they'd finished, and in return, she was allowed to stay in his nice bed, snuggling the warm sheets to her heart's content. She even dozed off on occasion. It suited Tugger just fine, he rarely spent his time in the junkyard in his den anyway, outside of sleeping and mating. Besides, they’d done this enough times now that he trusted her alone in his place. 

“Hmm, I might.” She sighs, nuzzling into the blanket, Tugger chuckles. “This is so soft, your blankets always are, where do you even get them?”

“From home, I always bring what I want from home.” He says with a shrug. “The humans have so much, they never miss anything.”

“Do you go to see the humans, often?” 

“Sometimes, when I get bored.” 

“Hmmm.” She yawns, while Tugger goes to straighten himself out, preparing to leave again. 

Bomba was one of the few cats he openly talked about his human family with. He was a very lucky cat, having been adopted by caring and wealthy humans, and that wasn’t lost on him. He truly appreciated all his humans provided for him, and he was the first to admit that he was properly spoiled, but he would never in a million years want to brag about his life to any of the other jellicles. 

Bomba doesn’t respond, and a quick glance informs him that she’d fallen asleep. He smiles, shaking his head with amusement, watching her perfectly relaxed face for a moment. She was a beautiful queen, anyone with eyes could see that, but despite rumors that circulated the junkyard multiple times, they had never been a proper couple. 

The attraction between Tugger and Bombalurina was almost purely physical. They’d always enjoyed each other's company, friends from the very start. When they first started mating with each other, it just seemed like the natural path for their relationship to go down and they both enjoyed it so much, they decided to keep at it. Things got a little awkward when they had to sit down and have the ‘what exactly are we?’ talk.

Both of them were hesitant to initiate the talk, not wanting to hurt the other, but there was a double sigh of relief when they realized they were both on the same page. They both wanted to continue the casual matings, but neither of them wanted to pursue anything romantic.They were good friends, but nothing deeper than that. So they decided to just be friends with benefits, and it worked perfectly for them.

“Sleep well.” He mumbles, slipping out of the den. 

He begins the trek to the outskirts of the junkyard, usually crawling with mice and rats, ready for a hunt. Now that his libido has been fed, it's his stomachs turn. He’s just barely started his journey when a voice stops him.

“Tugger!” 

Oh Dammit, not now. 

“Tugger, wait a minute!” 

Tugger sighs, and considers walking away anyway, but decides he doesn't want to deal with the aftermath. He turns to face his brother who is currently approaching him, looking just as tired and stressed as he usually does. 

“What is it Munk?” He asks, trying not to sound too irritated right off the bat, but making it clear he’d rather be somewhere else. “I’m kind of busy here.” 

“Busy with that?” Munk frowns.

“Breakfast.” The frown deepens.

“Have you still not eaten yet?” He asks, protective mode coming into play. “Tugger, you have to take better care of yourself, it’s nearly midday!” 

“Well I could be eating right now but  _ somebody _ stopped me from going to hunt, didn’t they?” He huffs, placing his hands on his hips. Munkustrap rolls his eyes. 

“Yeah alright alright, I’ll make this quick I promise.” He swears, holding his paws up in a placating manner. “I just need to talk to you a minute.”

“Oh yeah, Demeter told me this morning.” 

“And you didn’t bother to come and find me?” Tugger simply raises his eyebrow, as if to say ‘did you really expect me to?’ 

“Okay whatever, nevermind,” He says, knowing better than to try with his hopeless litter brother. “I just wanted to ask, have you heard from dad lately?” Tugger frowns, surprised by the questions.

“Not since the last ball, haven’t gotten a letter from him since.” Their dad didn’t usually turn up at the jellicle ball, though he always made sure to send well wishes. This was usually in the form of a letter given to Skimble, or perhaps Bustopher, or any cat that spent ample time traveling around. “Why?” 

“There are whispers he’s going to attend this year's ball.” Tuggers ears perked up, his tail twitching excitedly. 

“Really?” Munkustrap smiles at his brother's enthusiasm. “He is?” 

“Well I’m not sure, but yeah, I think so.” 

Tugger smiled, he guessed this was worth delaying his breakfast for. He was so excited, he loved the times when he got to see and spend time with his dad. All of the jellicles adored their gentle and fearless leader, but as his sons, it was even more special for Munk and Tugger. They didn’t get to see their dad nearly as much as they’d like. 

“Thanks for telling, Munk.” He says genuinely, going to walk away, assuming the conversation is over, but munk grabs his paw to stop him. 

“There’s one other thing I need to tell you.” Tugger frowns, reluctantly ignoring his rumbling stomach. 

“What is it, can’t it wait, I’m very hungry.” Munkustrap rolls his eyes once again at his dramatic brother. 

“Oh relax you big kitten, I just have to tell you that there's a new cat moving into the junkyard.”

“Okay, and?” 

“And he’s setting up his new den as we speak, so you’ll probably see him around here the next fews days if you’re here.” 

“Munk why are you telling me this, why would I care about some random new cat?” Tugger asks, hunger making his voice slightly more of a whine than he would later admit to.

“Tugger.” The older tom shuts him up with a serious tone, only continuing when the maincoon stops pouting and gives him his full attention. “The nex cat is a tuxedo, a small, male, tuxedo.”


End file.
